Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 8/21/2008

Question
QUESTION: Our 2nd mortgage was not reaffirmed in chapter 7 BK. Chase sold loan to debt collector who placed lien on property. What is our obligation to pay debt collector? We live in OH and 1st mortgage is current.

ANSWER: I'm not sure I understand the facts.  Was CHase the holder of the 2nd mortgage note or is this a credit card debt? Mortgage holders already have liens against the property.  If you didn't reaffirm the debt and received a discharge in your chapter 7, you have no further obligation on the non-reaffirmed debt, but any valid liens against the property can foreclose on it, subject to the laws of Ohio.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sorry for confusion. Chase held 2nd mortgage. We filed ch. 7 and did not reaffirm loan. Later, Chase charged off loan and sold it to debt collector. The lien that Chase had is now assigned to debt collector. We have been sending payments to them but they won't give us a statement or balance of loan. We didn't receive a 1099 for our taxes. It seems we are throwing our money away but aren't sure what to do.

Answer
You're not throwing your money away, unless you don't want to keep your house.  As long as you are making the contractually due payment amount and have a record of the payment (cancelled checks) then they cannot pursue foreclosure remedies.  As far as them not giving you statements or a balance, that is strange and I'm not sure what to tell you to do about that.  Perhaps consult with a real estate attorney in your area.